- Russia
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Assuming you can get a flight, there is still some cheap accommodation in Moscow.
The Voschod Hotel say they have doubles available for 2,400 rubles per night (about £25 each). Be prepared for a very basic facility though. The Hotel Sovietsky (a deliciously kitsch venue just north of the Garden Ring) have rooms for 7,200 rubles - £156. The Warsaw Hotel has singles for 4,300 rubles (about £94) and doubles for 6,250 (about £135 or £68 each). Like Home Apartments have flats available before and after the match.
And if you need a visa try Real Russia: they’re among the cheapest, and you’ll be able to track progress of your application online.
voschod.ru/en/
www.sovietsky.ru
Warsaw Hotel - tel: 495 238 7701
www.likehome.ru
www.realrussia.co.uk
Do not bring old, dirty US bills. They won't accept a bill prior to 1990 or one that's dirty, torn, or grungy. Go get some fresh, crisp bills from the bank - $50 in ones, then fives, tens and twenties.
Fantastic hostel in an unbeatable location within a stone's throw of the Kremlin and Red Square. Experience the decidedly un-Chinese Kitay-Gorod (Chinatown) area of Moscow for only 700рб per night. Can issue visa invitations too.
Maliy Zlatoustinskiy, Moscow 101000
+74956286695
www.napoleonhostel.com
It's a five star hotel which has a bar called the Conservatory on the top floor. The service is excellent and the atmosphere is very relaxed. The cosmopolitans are some of the best in Moscow.
4 Ulitsa Neglinnaya
It's quirky decorated, but very small and cosy. Stayed there on my last trip to Moscow. Only two rooms, but very central and cheap. Great alternative to hotels as much cheaper. Nice staff and great location.
www.flamingobed.com
metro: mayakovskaya
Me and my girlfriend (we are a lesbian couple) traveled from Moscow to Ekaterinburg, and on to Volgograd. The trip was amazing. We were a bit worried about traveling without male company, but I must say Russia is one of the friendliest and untouristy places I've ever been.
It is a big advantage to know some Russian. Outside of Moscow we met nobody who spoke English. I found Moscow very stressful and expensive. It was the least pleasant city we visited. Our next stop was Kazan, the capital of the Republic of Tatarstan. I highly recommend Kazan. It's an old, beautiful and exotic city with a mix of Tatars and Russes living there. The atmosphere was far more relaxed than in Moscow.
Kazan offers great mosques, and is the Muslim centre of Russia. It's a great place to relax and stroll about. This city has some stunning sights, including the UNESCO listed Kreml.
Our next stop was Ekaterinburg. We were told that it was situated in the Ural mountains, but we never saw a glimpse of them. Nevertheless; Ekaterinburg is a very pleasant and chilled city. It has a very western feeling to it. It's easy to find western food, as there's plenty of Irish pubs there. I recommend going to the Altay building. There you can take a lift and see the city from the rooftop. It's quite stunning. There's plenty of theatres all around the city, and even though you don't understand Russian, don't miss the opportunity to catch local theatre-troops.
A great place (although hard to find) to stay is the guesthouse called Academy of Geology. It's peaceful and has beautiful rooms.
From Ekaterinburg we went south to Ufa. Ufa is the capital of the Republic of Bashkortostan. Ufa was quite hard to get around, but it is still worth a visit. You can visit one of Lenin's homes and spot some unique architecture. The atmosphere in Ufa is, like in Kazan, very different from the Russian cities. I highly recommend the Azimut hotel (Bus stop Gore Moskva). It's a business hotel with great standards and a friendly staff.
On to Volgograd. Volgograd is probably one of the most beautiful cities I've been to. Situated on the banks of the Volga river with an almost tropical climate, it almost feels like you're in Greece. This is a city of history. The name Stalingrad might ring a bell. The most stunning thing to see in Volgograd is the huge Mother Russia statue. It's the highest statue in the world (72 m). It's an unbelievable sight when you compare it to a church that stands beside it. It looks more like a doll's church.
I also recommend the Stalingrad Battle museum, and the Volga river cruises. There are plenty of offers. Volgograd was really easy to get around in. The city centre is quite small, and it's easy to navigate because of the river. The Volgograd Hotel is cheap and amazing.
We had a wonderful time in Russia. My girlfriend knows some Russian and that came in extremely handy. We got quite used to people looking at us, but we never felt threatened or harassed. The most common comment we got from other women was that we were brave to travel by ourselves.
One thing that is difficult however, is buying train tickets. You will need to write down the information for the train you are going on, how many tickets you need, and what kind of cupee you want. And prepare for long lines. It might take hours to get your tickets. We always went in a 4-people compartment. It was a great way to travel. We shared compartments with so many different people, and it was a great way to get to know Russians. It's important to bring some food or beverage to share.
Girls; go to Russia. It is a fascinating place....
If you want to see some of the surrounding countryside and villages, then a leisurely boat trip on the Volga is a good way to do it.
These run mainly during the summer and one of the most popular trips is to Tolga, taking about an hour each way.
There are also somewhat faster hydrofoil services to Kostroma, an hour and a half each way.
Trips are from the river station on Pervomayskaya Ulitsa.
This is probably the most beautiful of the churches in the city. It’s worth walking all the way round, especially if you want to photograph it, as the pleasing collection of domes move around each other as you walk, offering sometimes surprising perspectives.
There is a warning that the church will be closed during wet spells, but I’m not sure if this is to help preserve the interior or whether it has a leaky roof. If you do venture inside you’ll find some of the best frescoes on the Golden Ring circuit.
Sovetskaya Square
It's a very good bed and breakfast, very nice managers, good location and affordable prices.
Another lovely small cosy place I visited, it's behind the metro station Mayakovskaya, cosy and as central as it gets. Clean rooms and lovely staff. Will for sure stay there again.
Metro Mayakovskaya, www.kitainn.com
The people were so friendly there and they have an amazing balcony that overlooks the whole of Moscow. We had so much fun out on the balcony, it's 20 meters long and connects all the rooms, so we naturally met the other people who stayed there. Sophie, one of the owners served up fresh coffee every morning, exacly what I needed after a heavy night out.
Next to Metro Mayakovskaya, Bolshay Sadovaya. www.topfloormoscow.com
Feodor Volkov, son of a local wealthy merchant, founded the theatre in 1750. It was the first professional public theatre in Russia and went on to become an important centre for the development of actors, which it remains to this day. The current building, on the original site, was constructed in 1911 in the neo-classical style.
Volkov Square
This is the centrepiece of Yaroslavl, a 16th century monastery which as well as an impressive cathedral and bell-tower also now houses a museum of local history. They also give impressive bell ringing demonstrations, the bells are hung from a free standing frame and worked by an impossible looking set of strings.
25, Bogoyavlenskaya square
This hotel, formerly knew as Nevsky 22, is comfortable, if you desire to spend your stay in the city centre of Petersburg.
In fact, it takes just a few minutes to get to the Hermitage (what a museum!). What is more, Nevsky Prospect is amazing: this boulevard was built in the 18th century and it is full of Italian and French influence: Saint Petersburg is really the union of two different cultures!
10 Bolshaya Konyushennaya St, 191186 St. Petersburg.
Tel: +7 812 3123131
Fax: +7 812 7033861
Website: www.nevskygrandhotel.com
This legendary hangout frequented by expats, students, and local residents since 1996 recently moved to a new location (now right across from the US consulate).
The casual cellar atmosphere is cosy and welcoming. The staff pretty much all speak English. The moderately-priced menu (in English and Russian) features tasty American-style food including nachos with homemade chili, and monster burgers like nowhere else in the city.
Free WiFi and internet phone are really conveninent and helpful, and the English-language book and video library can help keep you sane if you're stuck here in winter.
The bar attracts a younger crowd late nights on weekends, especially when there's a DJ or band. It can get a little wild (in a fun way), and it's a great time to meet and party with locals.
Furshtatskaya Ulitsa 20
Metro Chernyshevskaya
www.citybar.ru
Smaller than my one-room apartment in St. Petersburg, Dacha is a bar-cum-club which goes a little way toward being avant garde, or at the very least, off the beaten track. Its nights of 60s music, electronica mixed with punk, and insane remixed disco pop beats the packed crowd of twenty-something party-goers dancing 'till the club closes at 6am.
Round the back of Gostiny Dvor. Metro Nevsky Prospekt, Ulitsa Dumskaya.
This gay club is on Sunday nights only - during the rest of the week it is straight-ish (though very mixed on Thursdays). Being a Sunday nighter, it attracts a crowd of very cute boys who don't have to get up for work on Monday morning (or wish they didn't). Good music by Moscow standards, and the drinks are VERY cheap.
7 Bolshoy Zlatoustinsky per.; Metro: Kitai-Gorod, then follow the Maroseika Ulitsa and take the first lane on your left;
Open: Sunday 12am till 7am
These are the main rivers and canals that criss-cross the centre of the city. Boat trips are widely available in the summer months, but walking their banks is also a very good way to literally view a cross-section of the city and what it has to offer. What you'll see will range from the industrial to the picturesque and parochial, but whether frozen or fluid they offer an unbeatable guide to the gamut of St Petersburg.
The Fontanka and Moyka rivers and the Griboedov canal all cross Nevsky Prospekt, the main street through the city.
I had a very poor experience when I stayed here. First of all, the location - it's in a very dark, secluded area of Moscow and I've heard several visitors have gotten into sticky problems returning home in the evening. Second, the building and the hostel are in a dilapidated condition. Third, expect to wait for a long time to get to the toilet and the shower - if you ever reach it.
Cynic is a legendary underground bar hangout popular among local students and certain parts of the expat community. It can be rowdy, but it's not unfriendly. Originally housed in a filthy single room near Moscow station, it moved in 2002/2003 to new, larger premises just off St. Isaac's Square.
The basic drill is to sit around large tables drinking cheap-ish beer and vodka (occasionally absinthe), talking to friends and random strangers. Don't forget to try the grenki (fried bread with garlic), which give Cynic its special, peculiarly persistent smell. The food is actually surprisingly good, but most people come for the booze.
If you're lucky, some of the younger female patrons might have enough to decide dancing topless on the tables is a good idea. In which case, you've seen a genuine St Petersburg institution.
4 Pereulok Antonenko; www.cynic.spb.ru/ (Russian only), nearest metro Sennaya Ploshchad/Sadovaya. They probably don't bother answering the phone, if they have one
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